Ciao, fella

There’s a certain satisfaction in what happened Sunday night at Ciao Bella.

District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. was just another customer about to pay for his cheese pizza — in the eyes of a 27-year-old man eyeing the DA’s wallet.

Jason P. Beaudreau of Worcester reportedly reached for that wallet.

Wrong move. The DA pinned him against a wall and told an employee at the restaurant on Grove Street in Worcester that he was being robbed. Things went from bad to worse for the bad guy; another patron turned out to be Joe Hanrahan, a court officer in the Worcester Trial Court. The two men, joined by a third, held the would-be mugger in the parking lot until police arrived.

Mr. Beaudreau has been arraigned, placed on $2,000 cash bail, and ordered to stay away from Mr. Early and Ciao Bella.

The suspect allegedly picked the DA’s pocket of one thing, a list of chores Mr. Early’s wife had given him fell out of Mr. Beaudreau’s pocket.

None of this, of course, is really all that entertaining. No one wants to feel they can’t even purchase a pizza in the city without needing to be watchful.

But the truth is, we need to be aware. Incidents in Worcester appear to be on the uptick lately. We’re glad Mr. Early emerged unscathed and can only hope that anyone thinking of committing such a crime, against anyone, takes it off their to-do list.